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An alarming 10 to 15 per cent of all breast cancer incidents are categorised as triple-negative breast cancer—one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. A newly developed neoantigen DNA vaccine may be able to help patients fight the recurrences of such cancer, according to a recently concluded study.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tends to grow and spread more quickly than other types of breast cancer and is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage, contributing to its aggressive reputation.
TNBC is more commonly found in younger women, particularly those under 40, and those patients with TNBC have a higher likelihood of recurrence, particularly within the first three years following treatment.
Approximately 40 per cent of individuals with stage-one to stage-three TNBC may experience a recurrence.
It is called “triple-negative” breast cancer as it is characterised by the absence of three key receptors: estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). This means that this type of breast cancer does not respond to hormone therapies or targeted treatments that are effective for other breast cancer types. As a result, chemotherapy has been typically the primary treatment option so far.
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Now, according to a new study published in Genome Medicine, a new vaccine that targets cancer “neoantigens” in TNBC could become a new force of defence against TNBC recurrence.
Cancer neoantigens in triple-negative breast cancer are like special “badges” that appear on the surface of cancer cells. These badges are created when the cancer cells change or mutate, which can happen when they grow and divide.
Patients with persistent TNBC following neoadjuvant chemotherapy were the participants in the study. As part of it, 18 consented patients received a neoantigen DNA vaccine. All subjects were vaccinated with 4 mg of neoantigen DNA vaccine on day 1, day 29 ± 7, and day 57 ± 7.
Vaccines were monitored by the researchers for safety and immune responses using technologies like ELISpot, intracellular cytokine production via flow cytometry, and TCR sequencing.
It was observed that the vaccinations were well tolerated with relatively few adverse events and induced highly specific antitumor immune responses with minimal risk of autoimmunity in 14 out of 18 patients. At a median follow-up of 36 months, it was observed that 87.5 per cent of the vaccinated patients experienced recurrence-free survival.
